Kelly Ferguson

I don’t understand why Elizabeth has to address the “wage gap” issue to comment on this card commercial with appropriate social and cultural context. Seeing everything through the lens of victimhood, like the purveyors of the “wage gap” outrage would have us do, is not the only way to live. But boy, it sure is the preeminent worldview being pushed out there by mainstream feminists. That’s why, even though I am personally sensitive to some issues of sexism and gender based discrimination, I hesitate to call myself a “feminist”. I’m not buying what they’re selling – and I don’t think I’m the only one.

I think this exchange has really reflected an interesting cultural divide – between those who were alive and had come of age during the Second Wave women’s movement, and those who came after. Had I been alive to witness a time when women faced the incredible societal/legal barriers to family planning that they did in the first half of the 20th century, not to mention the other forms of discrimination that we can all agree were unconscionable – I, too, would have read this article with a big eyeroll. It must be nice to be a Millennial like me, who takes access to birth control for granted. Not to mention the numerous career, educational, and financial opportunities that were denied women of the past. It is true that while I can read about that era in books, or hear first hand stories, that I’ll never truly know what it was like.

Taking birth control for granted, and questioning its impact on women, is probably infuriating to ladies who fought so hard to have some free agency over the size and age of their family. But it’s also evidence of how far we’ve come. I don’t think the mainstream feminist movement would ever count me as a member – although I have leaned more towards the mainstream feminist point of view on some issues as I get older. But I do acknowledge that I wouldn’t even have a pedestal to make a 21st century critique of the women’s movement, had the 20th century women’s movement never happened.

I didn’t see anything in Elizabeth’s post about censorship. I did see her eloquently explain that as a consumer of said content from NBC, and as a parent to three young consumers, she found NBC’s offering on Thanksgiving morning (the parade) to be inappropriate. And while I didn’t see the parade myself, from what was described, I don’t think Elizabeth’s reaction was unreasonable. She may very well have to explain to her daughters what a cross dresser is someday – but I don’t at all think she’s out of line to expect that the freeking Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade broadcast will not be that moment.

By the way, let’s leave sexual orientation out of it for a moment. I don’t think the Thanksgiving Day Parade is the time to explain what the word “kinky” means. Honestly, our popular culture is more and more full of trash at the expense of actual talent and entertainment. That’s the broader point I see here.

Elizabeth, this article is great and I’m going to take that quote from Rose Kennedy and use it :) I am a new stay at home mom, caring for my 9 month old while I pursue my masters degree (and work on some important political projects :)) and sometimes I think I have left the world of adults – and am not doing significant things anymore. Especially when I spend a good part of the day cleaning up poop and half chewed food :) But this article was a great reminder. Thanks again.

Well said Kayla. I am a SAHM for now, but I completely understand why some women have to work and moreover why some women choose to work! I’ve also been subject to some pretty rude comments concerning my decision to stay home, and it’s not pleasant at all. I just think at the end of the day, we all have to OWN our decisions. I also think that none of us were meant to run households on our own, I think we need support and camaraderie from other women. Both women who work outside the home and women who don’t.

Thanks Shannon! I just needed to blow off some steam after some of the reactions I am seeing from people locally. And maybe I’ll make a follow up article about some of the elitist comments I have heard around here, basically chortling at the fact that people outside the Beltway dare to have an opinion about politics!

During the first installment of “The Ugly Truth About Obamacare”, we talked about how individuals must buy health insurance or face a fine. Not only is this unconstitutional on its face (yes it is, John Roberts) but the cost of health insurance, to borrow a phrase, will necessarily skyrocket once all the new regulations catch up with it.

However, many Americans may not be worried about the individual mandate, because after all, the majority of us do receive health insurance from our employer or a spouse’s employer. If that’s the case then, read on - you need to know how Obamacare puts employers through the ringer when it comes to offering coverage for their employees.

So let’s say you are Joe CEO. You own a house cleaning business with less than 50 full time equivalent (FTE) employees (a definition that makes the employer requirement much more wide ranging than if you simply counted heads). You are not required to offer health care coverage, but you can use the SHOP program to buy coverage – if you can get 70% of your employees to enroll.